He’s the designer of strikingly beautiful red carpet gowns for the likes of Cate Blanchett, Beyonce, Reese Witherspoon and Julia Roberts and heads up a business empire which makes his label one of the world’s biggest fashion houses. So it is only right that we celebrate Giorgio Armani’s forty years as the king of Italian chic.
As part of the celebrations, Armani has launched #atribute- a beautifully curated digital platformand social media initiative which lets us all get in on the birthday festivities. The new area of the Armani website has just launched and will be updated with a fresh tribute theme each week for the coming forty weeks. From ‘couture’ to ‘street style’, prepare for a constantly updated visual feast which pinpoints the many areas of fashion which Giorgio Armani has shaped and influenced.
To launch #atribute, the focus falls on the designer’s personal history- as well as the beginnings of the brand which has become one of the most widely known in the world.
Born in Piacenza, a town in the north of Italy, Giorgio grew up alongside his brother and sister, Sergio and Rosanna. Although fashion was by no means on the young Giorgio’s radar, the childhood images which form part of the first #atribute show his elegant mother Maria posing in black on the beach and Giorgio impeccably attired in crisp white shorts and a striped knit; style was clearly in the genes.
After toying with the idea of becoming a doctor or joining the army, Armani landed a role designing windows at upmarket Italian department store, La Rinascente. From here, Armani segued into menswear design and spent a decade freelancing for numerous Italian fashion houses. Eventually he met Sergio Galeotti, a young businessman keen to go into partnership. In 1975, they formed a company and Giorgio Armani- the brand- was born.
Despite an immensely busy forty years, during which Armani has launched numerous brand spin-offs, created more spectacular catwalk shows than we could ever count and coined a signature which has endured for years, his family life has always been a priority. The first #atribute also comprises shots of a super-suave Giorgio, dressed in his signature black tee- surrounded by his equally glossy family or posed beside a sleek classic car. All in all, they make for super-chic throwback social media catnip. Simply search #atribute on Instagram and Twitter to discover more.